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We adopted a German Shepherd puppy 8 years ago. However, when he wasapproximately 3 years old, he began scratching and biting himselfnon-stop. This resulted through the years in his losing nearly all hishair, major weight loss, and the growth of what appear to be warts allover his body. We have de-flead, changed diet from commercialproducts,to pure meat from the butcher, to home made food. We’ve changed ourresidence, bought him a new bed, changed his dish, our laundrydetergent, everything we could think of. He is still a very happyboy, but is still plagued by this condition.

You haven’t mentioned conventional pharmaceuticals in this scenario. Usually in a case such as this, an animal would have been put on a corticosteroid (e.g. Prednisone) to reduce inflammation. However, one often finds that although this drug works wonders in the short term, when stopped, the condition returns with a vengence. Thus, the animal ends up on it for life along with all of its long term side effects. This, combined with what you describe above, leads me to think that it would be best if your dog could have a consultation with a a qualified herbalist who has experience working with animals. This is a very complex and specific case and requires the attention found in a one-on-one consultation. Also see the posting on this website (www.richters.com) entitled, "Dog and Allergies"